We're going to push for well over 48-hours. The bare minimum before a unit goes out is there. We're hoping to average at least 72 hours per unit but the longer the better with this sort of thing, certainly.

We've had a unit running for over a week straight with our current configuration and have seen no issues (even when block any ventilation so far).

Click to expand...

I should have stated 7 day burn in would be amazing. But that does make it harder to ship when you get a flood of orders; always the problem with sales.

Does anyone know what the standard (if there is one) for burning in the controller boxes normally? Could be overachieving here

I should have stated 7 day burn in would be amazing. But that does make it harder to ship when you get a flood of orders; always the problem with sales.

Does anyone know what the standard (if there is one) for burning in the controller boxes normally? Could be overachieving here

Click to expand...

The standard burn-in for Audiophile gear (tube amps, speakers, etc.) tends to be about 100-200 hours (depending on who you talk to).

Most tubes I've rolled in my life took about 60 hours to settle down (new tubes often have harshness in the 6khz+ range). But of course it's a bit different here.

A typical controller box is pretty simple on the inside. I wouldn't say burn in is really required (other than initial testing) and most don't really have the same concern of heat dissipation because they use the enclosure as a heatsink (metal).

There was actually a lot of time spent in the hardware development stages of Hex-Nail making sure the enclosure was properly vented. We considered using steel to make it easier, but honestly I refused to move forward unless we went with hardwood.

If you have any questions about pre-ordering, or find any issues with the new site, or even just have a cool idea you think might be nice on your own Hex-Nail please contact me here: ava@hex-nail.com. We thrive on feedback from the community.

Feel free to post them below as well! Thank you.

- Ava M. Madsen (Hex-Nail)

Click to expand...

​

Thanksgiving/Black Friday Update! (Pricing & Warranty Changes)​

We are significantly cutting the price of the HN-01. As we refined the initial design we’ve found a few new ways to both improve the product and save money. For instance, we had originally planned to purchase internal mounting plates for our hardware. We are now milling them ourselves in-house.

(Use Coupon Code: fcro20 to save another $20) - Coil of your choice still included
(This replaces the 'pre-order' price reduction since we're closer to shipping now than when the original post was made. These coupons will be deactivated when round-one orders begin to ship)

- NEW WARRANTY INFO IS AS FOLLOWS -

Lifetime Warranty

Parts & Labor are covered for life. Return shipping is covered for life. Shipping is also covered by us both ways for the first 12 mo.
------
​

All of our current customers (both wholesale & consumer) have been informed of this change and we've put a few different options on the table for them to compensate (including a refund of the difference). We'd never want to hurt the customers that had faith in us before the rest did.
​

If you're already a customer, check your e-mail!​

If you'd like information on the new wholesale pricing structure, please e-mail me directly at: ava@hex-nail.com

Lastly, we have started a blog page on the site that essentially consolidates information, important updates, and posts across all our various media sources. This will be the easiest way to keep tabs on progress and we will announce software updates here post launch. (Those of you keeping up here will see some repeated content here, at the moment)
​

We're going to push for well over 48-hours. The bare minimum before a unit goes out is there. We're hoping to average at least 72 hours per unit but the longer the better with this sort of thing, certainly.

We've had a unit running for over a week straight with our current configuration and have seen no issues (even when block any ventilation so far).

Click to expand...

Turning a unit on/off during burn-in is in fact for most electronics an additional stress parameter. A large amount of electronic failures occur during current in-surge on start up. Now, I don't think we are going to do this type of stress testing on vapes, but ages ago I was involved with airborne electronics engineering and during burn-in and in addition to simple run time and on/off sequencing the units also had their power quality varied (within input spec but varied from top to bottom of the tolerance) as well as temperature variation. But like I said, I don't think we are popping vape devices into an environment chamber. LOL

I would also think for any device that contains a heating unit, that on/off during burn in will add stress as the mechanical parts expand/contract.

Turning a unit on/off during burn-in is in fact for most electronics an additional stress parameter. A large amount of electronic failures occur during current in-surge on start up. Now, I don't think we are going to do this type of stress testing on vapes, but ages ago I was involved with airborne electronics engineering and during burn-in and in addition to simple run time and on/off sequencing the units also had their power quality varied (within input spec but varied from top to bottom of the tolerance) as well as temperature variation. But like I said, I don't think we are popping vape devices into an environment chamber. LOL

I would also think for any device that contains a heating unit, that on/off during burn in will add stress as the mechanical parts expand/contract.

Looking forward to seeing more about this enail controller.

Cheers and happy holidays

Click to expand...

GrassHopper recently mentioned in an email how they do their testing. I'll quote the email

During October, a large amount of time was spent developing a new testing machine. Matt and Trevor focused on designing and building a new machine that tests all of the components within the Grasshopper Body. Previously, these components were tested individually, by hand. We can now cycle test over 250 Grasshopper Body components at once. This development is important because it greatly reduces testing time while ensuring we catch more failures before shipping. Each unit now is tested for over 2000 on/off cycles before it is shipped.

Click to expand...

So some vaporizers do some level of stress testing; however what you said sounds a bit better. Real world testing; varying the voltage (power) and testing it for x cycles to ensure the device works properly.

Testing each component 250times (before it's assembled) can greatly add time to how long it takes to burn in your equipment before assembly.

GrassHopper recently mentioned in an email how they do their testing. I'll quote the email

So some vaporizers do some level of stress testing; however what you said sounds a bit better. Real world testing; varying the voltage (power) and testing it for x cycles to ensure the device works properly.

Testing each component 250times (before it's assembled) can greatly add time to how long it takes to burn in your equipment before assembly.

Ah...I had seen this blurb from them but if you read it carefully, you can't really tell what the hell they are saying. For example:

"We can now cycle test over 250 Grasshopper Body components at once" - I don't think this means they run 250 tests on a given component as appears it may really mean that they now have an a test rig that can test 250 bodies (the middle piece, yeah?) at one time.

Now they do say that they are doing some level of final assembly testing, in particular "Each unit now is tested for over 2000 on/off cycles before it is shipped." So, each GH is on/off cycled 2000 times. They don't say how they do it (I would be surprised to see 2k cycles of the on/off button...it could be that their test rig can turn power on/off without mechanically cycling the clicker at the end...but perhaps this is indeed what they are doing). They don't say how long the units run during this power cycle testing.

All of this is good...that is, its moves in the right direction. But they still seem to have a pretty high RMA rate and some owners are up to 6 or more RMAs. I personally think they still need a laser like focus on failure root cause analysis and implement corrective actions. If this vape were generally highly reliable, I would sing its praises but as it stands now I have a hard time recommending it to any but seasoned, multi-vape owning, users. But as it stands now, the failure/issue rate has tarnished the reputation of a very innovative design and great functionally performing vape. HexNail would be strongly recommended to avoid this pitfall from the start. Much easier to maintain a reputation than to repair one.

A final note, my GH has not hiccuped a bit. I do baby it. I do not drive it daily. Mine has just been rock solid from day one and I do like its function VERY much.

Oooops, this is fairly off topic. Please forgive me and let's move on back to Hex Nail.

0.3g of Bubbah Kush Shatter dropped on the CCA Liger V3 (30mm) SiC dish. Probably the best dab I've had in my life. We're so excited to dial in these tunings. These Ligers seem to be the perfect pair with the HN-01.

Question, in the upper right hand corner there is another temp value "coil 730" while the other temp values for nail and the big temp figure in the middle is 575.

I believe you explained this before, but would you mind a review of what these various temp figures represent again. I particular, the 730...is that what the set point is at? I get the nail temp in lower right is calculated value estimating temp at the dab surface. Then what is the larger middle value? I guess I'm still a bit confused on this.

Oh, also you may want to post that vid here in the Liger 3.0 thread. I think this is a good thread to reach enthusiastic enail and CCA710 users which seem to be in the heart of your market.

I'm getting close myself. Just checked back and I really like where they're going with the product in terms of customization and tunings. Uptemp dabbing support would be the cherry on top and it looks like it's coming. Pricing is a lot more palatable too and brings them in direct competition with D-Nail but with a lot more features.

Before I'd order though I'd love to see a comparison of the different wood types, the features of each and some close-ups. Not a wood geek myself so kinda hard to choose.

I'm getting close myself. Just checked back and I really like where they're going with the product in terms of customization and tunings. Uptemp dabbing support would be the cherry on top and it looks like it's coming. Pricing is a lot more palatable too and brings them in direct competition with D-Nail but with a lot more features.

Before I'd order though I'd love to see a comparison of the different wood types, the features of each and some close-ups. Not a wood geek myself so kinda hard to choose.

Click to expand...

The wood isn't going to be an insulating factor here so you pick the wood for looks; how you appreciate it. It difficult to make a decision so I can appreciate the difficulty of making a decision.

I bought it because I have a controller already and it's just a standard MiniNail Controller. Nothing fancy nothing to make you swoon over; the Bloodwood however will look very good next to my Underdog. (It's Bolivian Rosewood). I suspect pretty lust worthy

I'm getting close myself. Just checked back and I really like where they're going with the product in terms of customization and tunings. Uptemp dabbing support would be the cherry on top and it looks like it's coming. Pricing is a lot more palatable too and brings them in direct competition with D-Nail but with a lot more features.

Before I'd order though I'd love to see a comparison of the different wood types, the features of each and some close-ups. Not a wood geek myself so kinda hard to choose.

Click to expand...

I'll get some more media up in this thread tonight. I'll post the raw top down video of the 0.3g melt so you can see the 'Glob Mode' icon actually tick down and deactivate. I'll explain a little more then about the customization settings.

Check out our blog post about the different woods. They look sterile, but these are actual photos of each wood in a 'finished' state (some were finished quicker than others just to make sure we got real shots out of each wood).

I'll take some more grain close-ups today on the units we'll soon be sending to CCA for testing. They're really coming out to be gorgeous representations of each wood they chose. I'm hoping to have a blog post up with more information about each wood within the next day or two.

The only real difference it makes, besides cosmetics (and workload for us, some of these woods are tough to mill properly. Haha) is the weight of the unit itself. Some of the woods are more dense than others so a little heft is added to those. There some durability differences between our options, but as long as you don't plan to you know, toss the controller against the wall...there should be no difference.

I'll take some more grain close-ups today on the units we'll soon be sending to CCA for testing. They're really coming out to be gorgeous representations of each wood they chose. I'm hoping to have a blog post up with more information about each wood within the next day or two.

Click to expand...

I saw the photos but I'm more interested in seeing the grain especially since I noticed they're different in some close-ups you've posted so far like the Bloodwood. Currently leaning towards mahogany, padauk or walnut.

I was thinking the best way to set it up would be on an angled stand or some sort, for a better angle and to keep the wood clean, is there one that you could suggest for its size? Would be nice to offer something like that as well as an option, could probably even 3D print a simple one.

I also just got a Pebble Time Round, any plans on supporting that platform down the road?

UPDATE: Nov. 27th, 2016
I've given up naming these since it seems we have updates almost daily now as we get feedback from users here. Haha.

Anyway, this update is mainly to address a question we had in some other threads about temperature 'dipping' and whether or not this could be built into the Hex-Nail's feature set. There's a lot of info after that, too. Keep reading.

The short answer is:We already have this feature implemented and achievable in a couple of ways.

------

The long answer is:

The most obvious solution for this is, disabling the heater while the unit is still on. The Hex-Nail has Coil On/Off Capabilities are controllable via whatever means you like. Apps, Wi-Fi via a browser, Bluetooth, Touchscreen, etc.

Thus achieving the desired effect by turning off the heater and allowing the temperature to drop to a desired level before re-enabling it (manually) and having it start to rise once again.
[Example: Set temp. @ 650, cut power to your heater, wait for it to reach 550, re-activate power to your heater and start the dab as the temperature then rises. as it normally would.]

We personally think that's a pretty involved way of getting this change to happen. So we'll do you one better.We will be expanding our already implemented 'Glob Mode' feature (seen briefly in the video above, more on that later.) to include completely customizable user preset 'Shifts' (which can be set and changed by the user at any time).

You will be able to make a new preset for a temporary 'Shift' in temperature (in EITHER direction), for a user set period of time (and user set temperature variation). You will also be able to choose how each shift starts and ends. Want it to go up in temp, then down? Done. Want it to down, then up? No problem. Want it to go up and stay? Fine.

Needless to say there will be a deep rabbit hole when it comes to playing with the 'Shift' options.

Here's some of the raw melt footage from the 'Glob Mode' promo we shot 2 days ago. Pay attention to the bottom left hexagon (illuminated, teardrop).

[Example: When the video starts, it's counting down from 15. When it's done it fades back to show the actual settings for the preset. In this case (re: software version), it reads '30+25'. This means that when activated, the Hex-Nail pushes as hard as it can to increase your temperature by 30 degrees for 25 seconds. Once it reaches the end of the timer, your temperature starts to once again fall to your set temp.]

...the Bloodwood however will look very good next to my Underdog. (It's Bolivian Rosewood). I suspect pretty lust worthy

I hope

Click to expand...

The Bloodwood has been extremely popular (our best-seller, so far, in fact)

It's a very vibrant red with a wide, darker red-ish brown grain. It's a bit trickier to mill than most of the other options (it smells pretty good during milling though). It's super dense, but surprisingly prone to splintering. We have to be super careful during the first sanding/assembly steps or we end up with some pretty pricey scraps.

It's incredibly smooth when finished. It almost feels like glass after the waxing/buffing steps. The edges end up slightly more rounded than some of the woods just due to the way the wood sands (and the fact our enclosures are hand-finished).

Lots of 'depth' in the grain appears in the right light and changes depending on your viewing angle. It's also fairly chatoyant (re: reflective due to parallel grain patterns).

I'll have more info on the others when I finish writing the full blog post about woods, but for now...take these.

Question, in the upper right hand corner there is another temp value "coil 730" while the other temp values for nail and the big temp figure in the middle is 575.

I believe you explained this before, but would you mind a review of what these various temp figures represent again. I particular, the 730...is that what the set point is at? I get the nail temp in lower right is calculated value estimating temp at the dab surface. Then what is the larger middle value? I guess I'm still a bit confused on this.

You can choose to either track to the COIL or the NAIL temperature (and switch between them as you choose). Once you choose which to track to that value lights up (in this case, I've chosen to track to the nail temp, so it is brighter) and DOES NOT CHANGE as long as it remains selected.

Since I've chosen to track to the nail, the middle number (orange) is now the current nail temp. The Hex-Nail will do it's best to keep this temperature the same as my set nail temp (green). Similar to your standard Set/Current PID interface.

Since I'm not tracking to the COIL right now, that temperature is faded but it DOES update in real-time. If you switched to coil tracking it would become illuminated and LOCKED. Moving your current coil temp to the center and fading out your NAIL temp (which will then update in real-time).

It's really interesting to watch the 2 'real-time' numbers change independently of each other. Nail temp drops 2 degrees the coil temp may jump up 4 degrees to try to bring it back up.

I feel like this seems more complicated without movement but if you watch the close-up frames in the Glob Promo I think you'll get a handle on it pretty quickly. There's a few long shots in there that really show the functionality.

I saw the photos but I'm more interested in seeing the grain especially since I noticed they're different in some close-ups you've posted so far like the Bloodwood. Currently leaning towards mahogany, padauk or walnut.

I was thinking the best way to set it up would be on an angled stand or some sort, for a better angle and to keep the wood clean, is there one that you could suggest for its size? Would be nice to offer something like that as well as an option, could probably even 3D print a simple one.

I also just got a Pebble Time Round, any plans on supporting that platform down the road?

Click to expand...

My personal favorite is Padauk, for what it's worth. I've been obsessed with this wood since we built our very first prototype with it. I'm a Leatherworker as well and my Every Day Carry aesthetic is essentially Weathered Brown Leather, Padauk, and Brass custom everything.

Stands are, in fact, in the works. It was something we saw coming from a mile away when we shot the first videos. It just makes sense. There will be a few options for materials on those. Don't want to give too much away until we finalize each design but I'll say this...Choose your wood carefully.

Pebble integration is not currently planned, but we'll certainly look into it after we ship our first run. We'd have to take a look at their SDK and Dev. tools before we go making any promises.

------

(Oh, and apologies for the previous post not being multi-replied on the one before it. My bad. Please delete it if necessary, mods.)

UPDATE: Nov. 27th, 2016
I've given up naming these since it seems we have updates almost daily now as we get feedback from users here. Haha.

Anyway, this update is mainly to address a question we had in some other threads about temperature 'dipping' and whether or not this could be built into the Hex-Nail's feature set. There's a lot of info after that, too. Keep reading.

The short answer is:We already have this feature implemented and achievable in a couple of ways.

------

The long answer is:

The most obvious solution for this is, disabling the heater while the unit is still on. The Hex-Nail has Coil On/Off Capabilities are controllable via whatever means you like. Apps, Wi-Fi via a browser, Bluetooth, Touchscreen, etc.

Thus achieving the desired effect by turning off the heater and allowing the temperature to drop to a desired level before re-enabling it (manually) and having it start to rise once again.
[Example: Set temp. @ 650, cut power to your heater, wait for it to reach 550, re-activate power to your heater and start the dab as the temperature then rises. as it normally would.]

We personally think that's a pretty involved way of getting this change to happen. So we'll do you one better.We will be expanding our already implemented 'Glob Mode' feature (seen briefly in the video above, more on that later.) to include completely customizable user preset 'Shifts' (which can be set and changed by the user at any time).

You will be able to make a new preset for a temporary 'Shift' in temperature (in EITHER direction), for a user set period of time (and user set temperature variation). You will also be able to choose how each shift starts and ends. Want it to go up in temp, then down? Done. Want it to down, then up? No problem. Want it to go up and stay? Fine.

Needless to say there will be a deep rabbit hole when it comes to playing with the 'Shift' options.

Here's some of the raw melt footage from the 'Glob Mode' promo we shot 2 days ago. Pay attention to the bottom left hexagon (illuminated, teardrop).

[Example: When the video starts, it's counting down from 15. When it's done it fades back to show the actual settings for the preset. In this case (re: software version), it reads '30+25'. This means that when activated, the Hex-Nail pushes as hard as it can to increase your temperature by 30 degrees for 25 seconds. Once it reaches the end of the timer, your temperature starts to once again fall to your set temp.]

The Bloodwood has been extremely popular (our best-seller, so far, in fact)

It's a very vibrant red with a wide, darker red-ish brown grain. It's a bit trickier to mill than most of the other options (it smells pretty good during milling though). It's super dense, but surprisingly prone to splintering. We have to be super careful during the first sanding/assembly steps or we end up with some pretty pricey scraps.

It's incredibly smooth when finished. It almost feels like glass after the waxing/buffing steps. The edges end up slightly more rounded than some of the woods just due to the way the wood sands (and the fact our enclosures are hand-finished).

Lots of 'depth' in the grain appears in the right light and changes depending on your viewing angle. It's also fairly chatoyant (re: reflective due to parallel grain patterns).

I'll have more info on the others when I finish writing the full blog post about woods, but for now...take these.

You can choose to either track to the COIL or the NAIL temperature (and switch between them as you choose). Once you choose which to track to that value lights up (in this case, I've chosen to track to the nail temp, so it is brighter) and DOES NOT CHANGE as long as it remains selected.

Since I've chosen to track to the nail, the middle number (orange) is now the current nail temp. The Hex-Nail will do it's best to keep this temperature the same as my set nail temp (green). Similar to your standard Set/Current PID interface.

Since I'm not tracking to the COIL right now, that temperature is faded but it DOES update in real-time. If you switched to coil tracking it would become illuminated and LOCKED. Moving your current coil temp to the center and fading out your NAIL temp (which will then update in real-time).

It's really interesting to watch the 2 'real-time' numbers change independently of each other. Nail temp drops 2 degrees the coil temp may jump up 4 degrees to try to bring it back up.

I feel like this seems more complicated without movement but if you watch the close-up frames in the Glob Promo I think you'll get a handle on it pretty quickly. There's a few long shots in there that really show the functionality.

My personal favorite is Padauk, for what it's worth. I've been obsessed with this wood since we built our very first prototype with it. I'm a Leatherworker as well and my Every Day Carry aesthetic is essentially Weathered Brown Leather, Padauk, and Brass custom everything.

Stands are, in fact, in the works. It was something we saw coming from a mile away when we shot the first videos. It just makes sense. There will be a few options for materials on those. Don't want to give too much away until we finalize each design but I'll say this...Choose your wood carefully.

Pebble integration is not currently planned, but we'll certainly look into it after we ship our first run. We'd have to take a look at their SDK and Dev. tools before we go making any promises.

------

(Oh, and apologies for the previous post not being multi-replied on the one before it. My bad. Please delete it if necessary, mods.)

Click to expand...

Thanks @HexNailAva - I understand the temp displays now. And, great reaction on setting up "temp over time" profiles. Very nice.

Thanks.. I still dont see the USB ports but maybe they arent on that particular prototype.

Click to expand...

The USB ports were actually left out of phase 2 prototypes on purpose. We're still trying to actually see if they can be implemented to our standards.

We had them on early prototypes, but we traced noise in the tracking data to them (especially when actually in use for charging).

We're looking into ways of properly isolating them from the rest of the internals (unfortunately the best solutions increase size). In the end we'd rather ship a more accurate, smaller, reliable controller without, than have them as a poorly implemented extra feature that hinders performance in the grand scheme of things.

After building audiophile-grade amplifiers for a few months as a contractor in Austin at one point I have, unfortunately, already experienced major issues with interference from power 'noise'. The Hex-Nail's USB issue is similar to the effect 'dirty' power has on electronic components.

The USB ports were actually left out of phase 2 prototypes on purpose. We're still trying to actually see if they can be implemented to our standards.

We had them on early prototypes, but we traced noise in the tracking data to them (especially when actually in use for charging).

We're looking into ways of properly isolating them from the rest of the internals (unfortunately the best solutions increase size). In the end we'd rather ship a more accurate, smaller, reliable controller without, than have them as a poorly implemented extra feature that hinders performance in the grand scheme of things.

After building audiophile-grade amplifiers for a few months as a contractor in Austin at one point I have, unfortunately, already experienced major issues with interference from power 'noise'. The Hex-Nail's USB issue is similar to the effect 'dirty' power has on electronic components.

Click to expand...

Not having USB is not a deal breaker for me at all. Id prefer small anyways. Will firmware be updated wirelessly and not via USB?